McCain plan a 'stunt' or 'smart move'

John McCain’s decision to suspend his campaign Wednesday and ask that Friday night’s debate be delayed so that he and Barack Obama could contribute to the national dialogue over the economic crisis was greeted as both a cynical “stunt” and a “smart move.”

Opinion often broke sharply along partisan lines, suggesting that McCain’s strategy could deepen dissent over the Bush administration’s proposed $700 billion economic bailout for financial institutions, rather than smoothing over differences in Congress. Obama’s announcement that he favored going ahead with Friday’s debate underscored the emerging schism.

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“It would not be helpful at this time to have them come back during these negotiations and risk injecting presidential politics into this process or distract important talks about the future of our nation’s economy,” Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) said in a statement. “If that changes, we will call upon them. We need leadership; not a campaign photo-op.”

But several observers said they thought McCain’s move bolstered his leadership credentials and demonstrated a willingness to put national interest ahead of partisan politics. However pure the motives, other said, the gambit would likely help McCain capture headlines, counter complaints that he was weak on economic matters and divert attention from news stories about his decline in the polls.

Grover Norquist, president of Americans for Tax Reform, said the move shows “initiative” and “leadership” and “makes the case that McCain stands for nonpartisan problem-solving.”

“The American electorate has a greater appetite for action, however unconventional it is, than it does for political debates and the tedious way they are currently constructed,” Madden said.

For Obama supporters, McCain’s move smacked of desperation and opportunism, a view the candidate himself tried to highlight in announcing that he wanted the debate to go ahead.

“This is exactly the time when the American people need to hear from the person who in approximately 40 days will be responsible for dealing with this mess,” Obama said.

“In my mind, it’s more important than ever that we present ourselves to the American people and describe where we want to take the country and where we want to take the economy.”

Dinging McCain, Obama said that it is “part of the president’s job to be able to deal with more than one thing at once.”

Judd Legum, who served as research director for Hillary Rodham Clinton's primary campaign, said McCain’s proposal would have been “more credible” if it hadn’t come on the same day that a new Washington Post-ABC News poll showed him losing ground to the Illinois senator.

Netroots Nation Chairman Adam Bonin called the move “panicky,” pointing out that “McCain hasn't cast a vote since early April, and there's nothing in his background or recent statements which suggests he has any particular insight to bring to this problem.”

At first blush, McCain’s proposal to postpone the first debate seemed to corner Obama, giving the McCain camp an opening to argue that Obama was not putting “country first” in his appeal to go forward with Friday’s debate.

Republican strategist Ron Bonjean called the announcement “brilliant positioning” on McCain’s part. “Sen. McCain now looks presidential by putting politics aside during this major financial crisis,” Bonjean said. “Suspending the campaign really plays to his ‘Country First’ theme and allows him to project big-picture thinking.”